A Pretty Strange Love Story

Summary: My lovely banner up there was made by the generous Marauder by Midnight... *stares adoringly* Bella is becoming a vampire, and Jacob can't stand it. Can Ang help him come to terms with it? Angela thinks that Bella will be the same after she is changed, but Jacob is convinced that she will be a monster. Who is right? And will Angela get to keep her best friend and her boyfriend? Oh, by the way, this is the sequel to A Not So Every Day Romance, so read that one first unless you want to be majorly confused. Go read the author's note... big, plot changing edits! DISCLAIMER: I don't own anything from Twilight.

Notes:
Sequel to A Not So Every Day Romance

5. An Interesting Conversation

When my mother got in the door, it was clear that she wouldn’t be staying the night. She was already railing about my ‘blatant disrespect’ and how I’d ‘shamed her in public.’ Personally, I couldn’t be happier that she had decided to take off early. However, I was sad to see Clara go. Mom had passed through the door without a glance in my direction, but Clara had hugged me tightly, making me promise to stay in touch and keep her up-to-date with everything Jake related.

She dragged the goodbyes out as long as she could, mom standing by the car tapping her foot impatiently. I could tell that it wouldn’t be as easy for mom to get her way now. The feeling was slightly empowering; my rant had actually accomplished something. I wasn’t going to med school, and this would give Clara the courage she needed to stand up to mom, too.

When they finally pulled out of our drive, dad sighed heavily with relief.

“Well, that was the longest day I’ve had the misfortune to wake up for in a long time. I’m ready for bed.” He kissed my forehead and headed up to his bedroom.

Suddenly, Edward’s words from earlier came crashing back to me. I was supposed to leave my window open. Had I made a decision about that? If I had, I didn’t remember it, which meant I had to make a new one anyway.

Jake would throttle me if he knew I was even considering this. He would be upset if he ever found out. It wasn’t like I didn’t understand why, either. Edward was a vampire. He could kill me easily. Too easily. I’m sure he was angry about the way I had spoken to Bella earlier, which meant that he had a reason to.

I knew all of this stuff, really I did. But even so, I found myself opening the window and pulling off the screen.

As soon as I had sat down on the bed, the rush of displaced air alerted me to someone else’s presence in my room. When I looked up, Edward stood in front of me, his face unreadable. His eyes were black as coals, with dark shadows under them, but otherwise, his features were as flawless as ever. His skin seemed to glow in the moonlight, giving him an eerie appearance.

“You know, I have to give you credit. I thought that being around werewolves so much had prejudiced you against us. But yet, you left your window open so I could get in. Not the smartest move, for someone who claims to love a werewolf.” His voice was pitched so low that I could barely hear it.

I drew my head up and answered before I thought. “I figured if you really wanted in a window wouldn’t stop you.”

To my surprise, he chuckled. “True.” He leaned casually back against the wall, looking straight at me.

“Your actions today hurt Bella,” he said bluntly, getting straight to the point.

I gaped at him. “What?”

“When you babbled the entire time, like you were nervous, and then rushed off with a pretty sorry excuse, if I do say so myself.” His words pierced me through. Was it that obvious I was uncomfortable around Bella now?

“Yes, it is. Especially to her. And Jasper. And me.” His words were clipped, a sure sign that he was getting angry.

“She’s just so… different, now, I guess. I wanted things to stay the same. I don’t think I can deal with having a best friend and a boyfriend that want to kill each other. There’s only so much I can take!” My near shout made me jump, and probably woke my father.

“He’s not awake,” Edward told me, reading my thoughts again. “Do you really think that Bella wants to kill your dog?” At my look he amended, “Jacob? He was her best friend for a long time, and was there for her at a time when no one else was, including me. She would never hurt him, as long as she had a choice.”

“What do you mean, as long as she had a choice?” I demanded. You always had a choice when it came to killing someone.

“Being a new vampire is…” He thought for a moment, “Difficult. There are so many things that you have to learn. Self-control is the hardest. Bella is stronger than most of our kind, we think it’s because she chose this life. She knows that killing is wrong, so she can be closer to humans, even though it’s hard. She doesn’t want to kill anyone, so she stays away. She didn’t mean to offend you. She was trying to keep you safe. With the do- Jacob, it would be even worse. Our instinct is to kill werewolves, as theirs is to kill us. We’re mortal enemies. She cares for Jacob, so she stays away. You, however, she believes, still can be friends. That’s why it hurt her so badly that you were afraid. She’s overly sensitive to that now.” As he finished, he pulled something out of his pocket.

“Bella asked Alice to give this to you when she saw you next, and Alice gave it to me.” He grimaced. “I forget her gift too, occasionally. She saw what I was planning to do.” He glared into my eyes. “This is going to sound like I’m some evil being, but I really don’t care. Don’t hurt Bella again. She has been through way too much for you to abandon her as well.”

I nodded once, already sure that I wouldn’t. Vampire or not, she was my friend.

I opened the envelope addressed to me, and began to read.

Angela,I don’t exactly know what to say. It’s not like I’ve ever been in this sort of situation before. I’m a vampire. You’re a human, in love with a werewolf. But I don’t think that has to mean we can’t be friends! I’m still Bella. And I still want you in my life … you’re the only one I trust myself not to hurt. I trust you completely. And Jake, too, even though it might not show. Call me, please. My cell number is 546-2254. We don’t sleep, so call any time. Love,

Bella

When I looked up from the note, Edward was gone, and the screen and window back in place.

I had forgotten about her gift. Right. She predicted the future. Which meant she already knew I’d be calling.

“Ang?” Bella’s new voice asked.

“Hey, Bella. Uh, how are you?” I stammered, not sure what to say.

“Great!” she replied enthusiastically, but then her voice became more serious.

“Angela, I swear I didn’t mean to scare you earlier. I want to stay friends, and that’ll be hard, bu-“

I must be insane. I was interrupting a vampire. “Bella, it’s fine. I wasn’t being fair. I just didn’t want things to change. I was, well, stupid.”

I could hear the happiness in her voice. “You sound tired. Get some sleep, and you can come over tomorrow morning.” Silence. “Wait. How did you get this number? Alice has been here all night. I heard a car pull up in the background.

“Edward Anthony Masen Cullen! What did you do?” She turned her attention back to me. “Ang, I’ll let you go. See you tomorrow.” She started to hang up, but I stopped her.

“Bella, I have plans tomorrow morning.” I said quickly.

“Oh, uh, that’s ok, I guess.” I heard the hurt seep into her voice, and had to do something.

“Jake has Pack stuff tomorrow night, though, so I could come over then …”

“That’s perfect! I’ll see you then! Now, if you don’t mind, I have to go kill my fiancée.” She sounded dead serious, so I let her go.

I fell into bed, and immediately to sleep. I dreamt of blood all night.